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JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Archaeologists in Israel said on Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrewtext ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where theBible says David slew Goliath.

The dig's uncovering of the past near theancient battlefield in the Valley of Elah, now home to wineries and a satellitestation, could have implications for the emotional debate over the future ofJerusalem, some 20 km (12 miles) away.

Archaeologists from the HebrewUniversity said they found five lines of text written in black ink on a shard ofpottery dug up at a five-acre (two-hectare) site called Elah Fortress, orKhirbet Qeiyafa.

Experts have not yet been able to decipher the textfully, but carbon dating of artifacts found at the site indicates the Hebrewinscription was written about 3,000 years ago, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by1,000 years, the archaeologists said.

Several words, including "judge,""slave" and "king," could be identified and the experts said they hoped the textwould shed light on how alphabetic scripts developed."